[Drama] Love Shuffle

Winter 2009

Episodes: 10

Starring: Tamaki Hiroshi, Karina, Matsuda Shota, DAIGO, Yoshitaka Yuriko, Kanjiya Shihori, Tanihara Shosuke...


This drama is about 8 people who participate in a 'love shuffle' where partners are shuffled on a weekly basis. Each week, they will have a different partner to go on dates with and to get to know. Each person partake in this bizarre arrangement for their own reasons which will slowly be unfolded as the drama progresses. It all started when four residents of a luxury apartment building who live on the same floor were trapped, by chance, in the same elevator at the same time during thunderstorm which caused a power failure. The four - Usami Kei, Aizawa Airu, Sera Oujiro and Kikuta Masato began talking about various things in their lives and found that they are all dissatisfied with the path their lives are taking.

Usami Kei is a young man whose fiancée is the daughter of his boss. Due to this relationship he was quickly promoted to a high rank. When he thought their relationship was going well and that a wedding will soon follow, the fiancee, Kagawa Mei decided that she couldn't follow through the engagement. Not only Kei did not receive an explanation for Mei's actions, but Mei, who appears to still have feelings for Kei, might not know the reasons herself.

Aizawa Airu, a linguistic interpreter kind of person, is attractive and smart. However, she finds that her relationships never go well as she watches her current relationship with rich man Oishi Yukichi fall apart helplessly. Though Yukichi loves Airu, he just could not fill the void in her heart and make her happy. Despite being rich and good-looking, Yukcihi is timid and submissive, a clear contrast with Airu, an outspoken, rough young woman.

Sera Oujiro is a shady professional photographer who mainly takes pictures of models, gravure models, fashion models. Models. Smooth-talking and confident and good-looking, Oujiro seems to be able to have his way with women. But the woman he is sleeping with is an older, curvy, married woman named Kamijo Reiko. Reiko is a scorned wife whose husband does not see her as a woman. She feels unwanted and seeks to become promiscuous with various man.

Kikuta Masato is a mature, reliable psychiatrist who seems to be able to think rationally about the happenings around him while retaining an air of mystery about him. One of his patients is a young art major university student, Hayakawa Kairi. Her father is a strict man who forbids her to do anything besides art. She feels trapped by his restrictions and rules and subsequently becomes suicidal. Masato proposed a "Love Shuffle" amongst his neighbours, their partners and Kairi which might or might not be driven by his concern for Kairi as a patient...

The eight individuals agreed to the arrangement though some participants needed some persuasion. Will new couples be formed? Or will old couples reunite? See... I don't know. It is extremely confusing.

*****

Expected pairings, slowly gets rather boring, but overall good. I'd spend more time with this entry but I have to uh... prepare for a presentation for my report and some other stuff.

So here's a brief on. Couplings, you can tell from the second episode or third. Tamaki Hiroshi annoyed me, favourite character Matsuda Shota's up until the point where he got boring and broke down because he thought Kairi was dead.

Halfway through, they tried to play up the mystery, but when the explanation for the mystery was done near the end, they were just boring. It is like they build up the anticipation, but could not deliver the big boom towards the end. It is like... uh... they Y2K, if anyone remembers that shit. So, towards the end of 1999, everyone was all "OMFG, like what is going to happen?" and then 2000 came and there really wasn't that big of a fuss. Yeah, like that.

Also, there were a lot of factors they used to kick up the drama and 'mystery' if that's what you want to call it. I call it confusion. There were too many characters and limited time for character development. What you had was just a simple explanation of the characters' backgrounds when two of the characters were having a heart-to-heart conversation. Was not satisfactory. The 8 main characters were this drama's best feature, yet it caused the drama's worst. Also, the various reference to Japanese popular culture and other random references which were incorporated into their conversations can cause much confusion to those who don't understand. Considering the fact that I watched this raw... I am lucky to understand as much as I do.

I did, however, enjoyed. In fact, I haven't finished watching "Voice" and "Triangle", so it will be a little bit hard to decide which was the champ for the season for me.

Reitings: 3/5

[Drama] Boku no Aruku Michi

Fall 2006

Episodes: 11

Starring: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, Karina, Sasaki Kuranosuke, Kohinata Fumiyo, Motokariya Yuika, Megumi, Suga Kenta, Tanaka Kei,

Ootake Teruaki is an autistic man who finds himself constantly quitting his jobs because of his colleagues who were too quick to judge and refuse to put in effort to understand his disability. With a doting mother who gave him endless encouragements and a patient, supportive childhood friend, Miyako, Teruaki gained a newfound courage to work at the zoo in which Miyako is the vet.

Initially, fellow animal handlers at the zoo were impatient with Teru's disabilities and were often irked by him. But as time goes by, they warmed up to Teru. Straightforward, hardworking and innocent Teru won the colleagues over and was gradually growing attached to Miyako.

When Miyako decided to marry her boyfriend, Teru and his family, worried that Teru might not be able to take it, slowly explains to Teru that things between the childhood friends will not be the same after the marriage. On the other hand, Teru's extraordinary ability to memorize word-by-word has allowed him to excel in his job. How will Teru be able to cope with the workplace without Miyako? Will Teru and Miyako's bond be broken by her marriage?

*****

Bah, I expected it to be as good as "Boku no Ikiru Michi". But it isn't. I am disappointed. The slow-paced storyline was okay. I am fine with slow-paced stories as long as there's enough character development and something special.

I didn't like the drama at all. Not to mention the fact that the ending is oh-so-predictable, the journey towards the ending is a boring one too. The only thing about the drama I like, is Karina. xD Kusanagi Tsuyoshi used to be hot, around... 1996. xD Well, times change.

Not every drama/movie about a mentally/physically challenged person is good. For this, the emotional attachment is lacked. I don't feel for Teru at all. Everything is just annoying. The majority of the characters are annoying. The only character I feel something for is Kohinata Fumiyo's character. His guilt towards his own son, who is also autistic, and how he tried to make up to it eventually. That's something. How an old man who made a mistake, a cruel one too, and then realized his own mistake when he was left alone, with no family. Oh course, the fact that he took the steps to make amends after getting to know Teru and getting to like Teru. Oh and the kid, the kid nephew. Isn't he that kid from "Kuitan"? Gotta love that kid.

Don't like the theme song. Don't like most of the drama. Don't like.

Reitings:
2/5

[SP] Myuu no Anyo Papa ni Ageru

2008

Starring: Matsumoto Jun, Karina, Hatakeyama Rina...

The one-part drama opens with a happy family eating breakfast but later flashes back to the past when the family was not as picture-perfect as the present. Although the father, Yamaguchi Hayato is physically challenged, he faces life bravely as he narrates his story from the beginning. Hayato explains that the reason he could go on living with a smile plastered on his face is due to the support that he got from his beloved daughter Myuu and his pretty wife, Aya.

The drama slips back to 6 years ago, when Hayato was a healthy university student who was active in baseball and worked part time at a karaoke place. That was when he fell in love at first sight with Aya, a customer at his workplace. Young and brash, Hayato did not hesitate in his pursuit of Aya and eventually won her over despite a rather odd beginning to their relationship.

Hayato knocked Aya up not long into their relationship and made a promise to their parents that he would work hard to save up to 1 milllion yen before the birth of their child and he kept his promise as he gained a baby daughter named Myuu. They finally became a family as Hayato continued to work harder to support the family.

Their happiness did not last long as Hayato found that his limbs were mulfunctioning. A body check led to the discovery that he has Chronic inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy which means that his nervous system is affecting the movements of his body. Or something. I'm no doctor. Hayato was cooperative in all sorts of the different treatment programs the doctor suggest but eventually lost the drive in him as it gets harder and harder for him to move his limbs. Hayato found renewed motivation and decided to face the future bravely with a smile on his face after Myuu offered to give her dad her own legs.

*****

If MatsuJun and Karina hooked up in real life it would be like Brangelina, only way younger and no scorned ex-wife involved, oh and I would like this couple. I am not the biggest Brangelina fan because I grew up watching "Friends". Besides Brad is old now, like have you seen how they tried to make him look like he was in "Meet Joe Black" again but failed oh-so-miserably in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"? (Ah ha! I watch movies that are non-Japanese too. Who would've thought?) He looked like a freakin mannequin from all the make-up. xD Failed efforts. Time does not wait for anyone, not even Brad Pitt.

And if MatsuJun's sperm and Karina's egg were to merge, the kid would look better than that. I am thinking somewhere along the lines of the most beautiful porcelain doll you have ever seen. I exaggerate. xD Jun is not THAT hot, but Karina is. Her hotness evens things out. xD

Jun had everyone deceived, trying to play the happy, loving, cheerful daddy. He couldn't trick me though. I see him for the gay Do-S midget-fancier that he is. xD I kid. I read that it was based on the true story of a man who really was sick. There were some heartfelt, warm moments. I guess this is worth the time. This is part of the 24Hr TV even which was held back in August last year. I watched it a while back, but you see... I didn't quite bother.

Until recently, I watched "Kimi wa Petto" again. So I was kinda in a MatsuJun mood. A noble effort on MatsuJun's part to play a physically challenged man. It is not an easy role to play. At least far more difficult than any of his other roles where all he had to do was walk around and be arrogant. There wasn't much emphasis on Karina's character though, she was just playing the supporting wife who was meant to be outshone by Jun's character. Karina was just there to look pretty. The kid just had to act all cutesy and smile and talk in a high pitched voice.

Can you tell that I really hate kids?

I hate kids.

Last entry for the next few days. ^^ As tradition has it, people who celebrate the Lunar New Year will have a feast on New Year's Eve. We eat like we don't know what the eff 'carbs' and 'fat' and 'cholesterol' is. Whatever comes next, we worry later.

Reitings: 3.5/5

[Buzz] Myuu no Anyou Papa ni Ageru

They could have casted a cuter kid as the offspring of Jun and Karina. I mean, its Jun and Karina. Their kids could be more genetically blessed, really.

I always liked Karina cos she's hot and she's not all cutesy. In "Bambino" I had hoped that Jun and Karina's character would hook up. But it wasn't the case and I was disappointed. xD

NOW NOW NOW, they are making them hubbie and wifey~ They're so... compatible, physically speaking. Its not just how deep their features are, its their height as well. Its just... I am moved to tears. I need a moment...

Yeah, I know, such a drama queen, I am.

I watched that episode of SMAPxSMAP where Karina appeared with her sisters. Ah... they're all tall and purty. Life is just unfair. Really, it is.

What a picture perfect family they can make if they hook up for real. Damn, I should stop pairing people up like that.

[Drama] Daisuki !!

Winter 2008

Episodes: 10

Starring: Karina, Hiraoka Yuta, Kishimoto Kayoko, Fukuda Saki...

Yuzu is a mentally disabled young woman who fell in love with a mentally disabled young man named Sousuke. Sousuke got Yuzu pregnant and later died getting ran over by a bus. Yuzu's mother initially would not let her keep the baby but then managed to make her mother, Miyoko change her mind. Yuzu's child-raising journey is an especially hard one considering her disabilities, but she was supported by her strong will, her mother, her younger brother - Ren and later Sousuke's sister Kotone came into the picture as well.

Miyoko is a doting mother who cares a lot for Yuzu. Often, she tried to make Yuzu learn to be independent but has to put in a lot of effort to help her.

Ren is a caring younger brother who supports his family, thus sacrificing his dream and his girlfriend. Nonetheless, he prioritizes his family.

Kotone was a troubled young woman who faced problems in her orphanage in Chiba, she ran away from home and chanced upon Yuzu and was taken in by the family as a part of it.

What ensues is a touching and at times sweet story of love and perseverance... and the goodness of family... and how mommies are great... and... T_T

*****

I have to say, I have seen great performances from actors who play the mentally challenged. Karina's is not one of them. But you can tell very well that she tried. That's is all that matters, since Japanese dramas are not well known for their impeccable actors and their skills in acting.

No, really, they're not. We're in it for the pretties. Lets not lie to ourselves. Karina is very pretty. I'd rather see her strut her stuff on the runway or play a hot young woman. She's trying to evolve, to prove that she can act, but its not really working. So she should really just stick to being pretty, its totally okay. BUT, she gets better as the series progresses though. More convincing. Well, yeah... perhaps.

Hiraoka Yuta. Ah~ Is 'Ah~' enough to convey? xD I don't want to go all happy and exclaim that he's hot and stuff. His character is sweet as well. Ah, I'll leave it at that, because I will go on and on about how tall he is and how nice his smile is. I don't want to.

Fukuda Saki. I didn't watch "LIFE". But she has always had a positive image in my head because she doesn't stick to playing the sweet and the kind. That is good for health.

Yuta has nice, cute, baby lion a.k.a. cub teeth. xD SEE? I need to find something else to say or I'll go back to Yuta. Damn~~

I found the first episode especially touching, the rest just revolves around how Yuzu overcame the difficulties she faced while being supported by the people around her. Boring. They had the little girl from Hotaru no Haka play the 5-year-old Himawari. I didn't like her. Though she's a great actress. GREAT, I tell you.

Did I mention Yuta is tall? xDDD I am sorry. And his character is great. He's a man with a burden but he never thought that it was a burden. He made a resolution to watch over his sister and his niece, thus he sacrificed his dreams and his love. T_T Great. I totally forgive Yuta for dumping Hachi. xD Wait... Shouji dumped Hachi. Yuta played Shouji. I shouldn't really~~

See, I am so effing mixed up now. xD LOL.

Its a heart-warming story about family love that extends beyond family ties. Its about how the mentally challenged are also human beings with feelings. Its... T_T

Rating: 4/5